Artificial intelligence: applications and future developments. Interview with Gualtiero Cortellini

In theory, everyone probably knows what artificial intelligence is. It attempts to simulate human behaviour with hardware and software systems. What do we see in artificial intelligence? Every model that one can use to simulate human behaviour — extremely applicable in areas such as manufacturing, logistics and assisted mobility — and turn deterministic systems into predictive systems, thus favouring the shift from tacit information retrieval to explicit information that enhances behaviour predictions, hence an active approach.

As a consortium, we see the application of certain artificial intelligence models in the Italian market and in certain areas. In industry, we see three main applications: predictive maintenance, therefore no longer trying to promote preventive maintenance, but enhancing a machine’s long-term efficiency, recovering all operating modes and user systems that change a machine’s behaviour and introduce entropy, and simulating these behaviours with a database collected via sensors using metrics that make it possible to process a certain type of variable and make 100% efficiency enhancement feasible in the long term. 

Another area of application is the advanced service sector, and two main areas in particular. One is finance, with the recovery of intelligence that we see through the application of a large Italian banking group, which allows us to stimulate and, in some way, simulate the default capacity of a loan. The other area is information retrieval to promote marketing capacity using two main models: profiling, with a base of information that can be processed, or retrieval from several sources accessible on the Web or elsewhere, which allows us to profile a target to automatically communicate products and services.

Let’s keep it small by considering our country and the European Union. What has changed significantly is the application of an organic law called ‘Impresa 4.0’. It made a phenomenon that was trendy, or perhaps the exclusive prerogative of those in academia or science, a topic of interest to the entire economic sector, including small and medium-sized enterprises, by providing incentives and by specifying fields of application, even in areas that are not so technological. It is a simplification of the communication process.

First of all, there is contact with the business world, which is finally facilitated by legal instruments such as industrial doctorates, executive doctorates and R&D tax credits. What are the main areas of application? All aspects of the circular economy. Going back to the previous topic, the trend is to simplify processes, that is, enhancing the efficiency of resources for sustainability — computing resources, communication resources, transport resources and logistics, as well as energy recovery and information retrieval. On the other hand, the scope is to retrieve information available on the Web and favour a better distribution of more qualitative information.

These are two mutually enabling symbiotic technologies. 

Wearable technology enables artificial intelligence, making it an easily accessible technology, and perhaps facilitating costs the market will also be able to afford. It will also allow the use of artificial intelligence to simulate behaviour, making the technology accessible to a more specific target group of consumers, such as elderly people, children and people with disabilities. I am also thinking of its application in certain areas such as medicine or risk prevention.

Two areas come to mind, specifically the circular economy and thus the possibility of having complete traceability of both processes and the products released on the market. The other is secure information retrieval, including with blockchain technology, and the opportunity to use distributed communication systems in any sphere with a communication system both between the producer and consumer, and among the consumer community in a more integrated manner.